Method & independence
How we keep results honest.
A test is only useful if people trust it. These are the rules every campaign follows, whoever pays for it and whatever the results show.
- 01
One open protocol per crop
Each crop has a public, versioned protocol: which markers, which lab methods, how many fruits, how they’re stored and when they must reach the lab. Every farm testing that crop follows the same one, so results can be compared.
- 02
Independent sampling
A trained sampler who doesn’t work for the farm draws fruit at random from real outgoing shipments, not from a tray the farm prepared. A retail sample of the same variety is bought the same week.
- 03
Chain of custody
Every bag is sealed, numbered and logged with time and temperature from orchard to lab. Any break in the chain is written in the report.
- 04
Accredited labs
Analyses run only in labs accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the specific methods used. The lab’s name and accreditation are printed on every report.
- 05
A named scientific reviewer
An independent scientist checks the protocol, the lab report and the plain-language summary before anything is published, and signs it with their name.
- 06
Publishing rules agreed first
Before testing, the farm chooses: publish the results under its name, or contribute them anonymised to the database only. Backers receive the results either way. The choice can’t change after the results come in.
- 07
Funding disclosed, fees fixed
Every report says who paid and how much. Our fee is a fixed share of the panel cost and never depends on the outcome. Partners who match a campaign have no say in what gets published.
- 08
An open reference
Anonymised results build a reference per crop, region and season, published under an open licence (CC BY 4.0) so anyone can use and check it.
What we won’t do
- Make health claims, or call one farm’s food healthier than another’s.
- Hide results from backers because they’re average or below average.
- Let a funder choose the lab, the sampler or the wording of a report.
- Rank farms. We show measurements and their context, not scores.
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